Friday, January 30, 2015

'Along The Golden Mile'

Made a visit to Objectifs to view Darren Soh's 'Along The Golden Mile'. Golden Mile Complex held no significant personal memories till very much later as an adult when I began unenthusiastic attempts at cooking and required specific ingredients, i.e fish sauce or Thai mushrooms; Golden Mile Complex became the place to get stuff. But till today, aside from Arab Street and its little lanes, the Beach Road area is unfamiliar to me. Now that there's The Projector, it would be compelling to hop over once in a bit. It was also hilarious because after Darren Soh took many shots of Golden Mile Complex, it has recently been re-painted grey over its earlier brown. Heh.

Loved how the third-floor gallery space turned three-dimensional. No photographs were framed. The photographs were printed out into hardy posters to line every inch of the walls, floor-to-ceiling. The organizers even put in the bright blue sky with fluffy clouds too. Nice! No frames in sight. It really gives a different feel to a photography exhibition. Love it. The prints didn't just capture the concrete, steel and glass façade of the buildings and architecture. They also offered a peek into the human dwellers within. Loved the details of slippers lining the residential units along a couple of floors at each block of flats.

Many of the buildings are new to me. I don't recall seeing them, even if they've been around for years. Then again, I'm not sentimental about places and venues in Singapore. They keep getting torn down, rebuilt or new buildings rise to replace the old. I don't particularly care about where 'home' is. As long as this home fits my needs for this specific chapter in life. Otherwise, I'll move away from a locale or a city. There isn't much space or affection for nostalgia.

The trail of photographic prints ended at the rooftop. 25 laminated prints lined the floor, defying the finicky weather and rain. Stayed for quite a bit to enjoy the view. Definitely no more nice cool weather of December and early January. The pervasive humidity and heat was full-on, but at least it was cloudy. Till 18 February 2015. Go! In this video, Darren speaks of his inspiration and thoughts behind creating the photographs. In the introduction to the show at the gallery, he said,

With the construction of Ole Scheereen's Duo Towers and other new developments in the area, my task of documenting the area is far from complete and will likely remain a work-in-progress for the foreseeable future. After all, the only constant in Singapore's urban landscape is that of change, and this applies to the Golden Mile as well.

2 comments:

that's a good set of photos too! i can't quite empathize with his feelings about those places, but i appreciate how unwanted they look now before being torn down, and just interesting about what used to be there in place of the current existing building.

Notion

“A large, but not particularly impressive, book. Other books in the University's libraries had covers inlaid with rare jewels and fascinating wood, or bound with dragon skin. This one was just a rather tatty leather. It looked the sort of book described in library catalogues as 'slightly foxed', although it would be more honest to admit that it looked as though it had been badgered, wolved and possibly beared as well.
Metal clasps held it shut. They weren't decorated, they were just very heavy – like the chain, which didn't so much attach the book to the lectern as tether it.
They looked like the work of someone who had a pretty definite aim in mind, and who had spent most of his life making training harness for elephants.” ~ The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett